Exploration

Far beneath the surface of Haven lie The Clockworks, a massive underground labyrinth surrounded by a patchwork of pieces of other worlds. These pieces are divided into a series of layers, known simply as floors, that constantly change alignment, and sometimes their very composition. This is thought to be due to the floors being situated on a series of rotating mechanical platforms. The floors themselves appear to be composed of pieces of other worlds, much like the very surface of Cradle. However, these floors feel far more engineered than Cradle itself, as there are challenges laid out within for those that would dare explore them, including fearsome monsters and deadly traps.

In order to better understand The Clockworks and its secrets, the Spiral Knights organize constant expeditions into its depths utilizing the rotating gate system found in Haven's Arcade.

Gates

The "Jade Pawn" Gate, a gate found in Haven's Arcade.

Gates are entry points to The Clockworks that are located within the Arcade in the rear of Haven. Built from minerals gathered by dutiful Spiral Knights, gates are made up of a series of levels that descend deeper and deeper beneath Cradle's surface. There are usually a variety of gates available for exploring at any given time, and new gates rotate into existence daily, rotating access to older gates out at the same time.

Some gates go deeper toward the Core than others, and some will have particular themes to their construction. Be sure to thoroughly search each and every gate you can: you never know what you'll find beneath the surface!

Who is responsible for constructing these gates, you ask? Why, that'd be you! For more info, see the Arcade section below.

Levels

An elevator leading deeper into The Clockworks.

Levels are areas filled with treasure and monsters that must be traversed in order to descend deeper into The Clockworks. The Clockworks is said to have an infinite number of such levels, though exploration has determined that there are definitely useful patterns and paths that can be located within the chaos.

Levels are accessed using elevators keenly constructed by the Spiral Knights for their explorations. Each level has an entry elevator which acts as a start point for any adventuring Knights, as well as an exit elevator that will take them further down into The Clockworks. Spiral Knights must traverse these levels in search of the elevator to the next, deeper level of The Clockworks, all the while fending off horrible monsters and avoiding traps. Dangerous as exploration is, canny Knights are richly rewarded: each level typically has an abundance of Crowns, materials, items and minerals ripe for the taking by anyone who can find them and safely haul them away. Not only that, but by defeating monsters, valuable embers can be earned which are used by a Spiral Knight's systems to upgrade their equipment!

Upon the completion of a level, a Spiral Knight's currently-equipped gear will be given credit for any embers they picked up on that level, and upon completing a few levels consecutively, a Knight is given the opportunity to safely head back to Haven by using an exit elevator found in a Clockwork Terminal. Successfully traversing levels is the only way to get to the Core, so don't get in over your head! Take advantage of the equipment-boosting power of embers, and make sure to head back to Haven safely if things are getting a little rough!

Note that constructing and using elevators is a particularly taxing process for the Spiral Knights' technology, and so every Knight that wants to descend deeper into The Clockworks aboard an elevator is charged a small amount of Energy to do so. Energy is a valuable resource on Cradle, so make certain you have a sufficient supply for your expedition before making the trip, lest you have to head back to Haven early!

The Arcade

The Arcade in Haven holds all of the gates that are currently available for exploration. New gates rotate into and out of circulation daily, with active gates residing on the far left of the Arcade, and currently inactive gates sitting on the right. These gates will steadily shift left as time passes, with older active gates eventually disappearing from the Arcade, and new inactive gates being constructed on the right.

The process is a bit more involved than a simple slide to the left, however! It takes a great deal of resources on the part of the Spiral Knights in order to fully construct a new gate for exploration. You can assist in this effort by depositing minerals previously found in The Clockworks into inactive gates. This can be done by traveling to the Arcade and interacting directly with the inactive gate of your choice. Each such gate has a countdown listed on it. Once this countdown reaches zero, the gate's minerals will be expended to drill down into Cradle and produce a new gate with a new series of levels. Different distributions of mineral will produce different types of level beneath a gate, so experiment to find new and interesting levels, and maybe even a route to the Core!